Gors y Brithdir Enclosed Hut Group & Ancient Fields

Cadw's description

Summary description and reason for designation

The following provides a general description of the Scheduled Monument.

A single round hut standing within a sub-rectangular enclosure on the level summit of a rocky outcrop overlooking the wooded valley of Gors y Brithdir. A field system adjoins the enclosure on the SW and is particularly well preserved in a belt of woodland occupying a steep slope. The site probably dates from the first millennium BC.

A broad turf-covered, stony bank, representing the remains of a single hut, stands isolated in the middle of the enclosure. The hut measures c.10m across but has no obvious entrance. The sub-rectangular enclosure measures c.25m across with a prominent entrance of about 2.5m wide on the W side. The enclosure wall varies in width and height and is apparently absent along the S side where the natural rock outcrops.

The boundaries of the field system consist mostly of stone walls, generally up to 2m thick and up to 1m high, but include banks. The boundaries run up and down slope to form small paddocks or fields which utilised the Brithdir streams as a natural boundary on their west sides. There are also mounds of stones scattered amidst the fields, these are assumed to be field clearance cairns.

The monument is of national importance for its potential to enhance our knowledge of prehistoric settlement. It retains significant archaeological potential, with a strong probability of the presence of associated archaeological features and deposits. The structures themselves may be expected to contain archaeological information concerning chronology and building techniques.

The scheduled area comprises the remains described and areas around them within which related evidence may be expected to survive.